Made possible by the Rivers Institute and the History Department of Hanover College.

Summer 1811

The steamboat New Orleans' 1811-1812 trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Pittsburgh to New Orleans marked a turning point in the Transportation Revolution. After the New Orleans showed that it could be done, steamboats proliferated on the Ohio and the Mississippi and their tributaries. Steamboat traffic helped create a national economy, opening markets for farm goods and drawing people and commerce to cities along the rivers. The items below were published in Summer, 1811, and they provide context for understanding the Roosevelts' "steamboat adventure." (Note that newspaper editors often reprinted stories that appeared earlier elsewhere.)

The summer of 1811 found the Roosevelt still in Pittsburgh. Nicholas Roosevelt was continuing to supervise the construction of the steamboat New Orleans. Lydia Roosevelt, anticipating a second child in the fall, probably took an interest in the business while also being occupied with the care of their toddler daughter, Rosetta.

Meanwhile, American astronomers were beginning to sight the Great Comet of 1811.

June 5, 1811, Liberty Hall - first sighting of the comet in Chillicothe, Ohio
June 8, 1811, Western Spy - first sighting of the comet in Chillicothe, Ohio
July 3, 1811, Liberty Hall - report of the ship Three Sisters ("largest that ever descended the Ohio") arriving in New Orleans safely
July 27, 1811, Western Spy - concerns about travelling out of Cincinnati because of the dangers from Indians
1871, First Steamboat Voyage - Lydia Roosevelt's brother describes the New Orleans's construction

More about the "Steamboat Adventure" of 1811-1812 --

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Summer 1811

More about the "Steamboat Adventure" of 1811-1812 --

Steamboat Adventure homepage

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